A Letter to the Polish Communists

Written:October 19, 1921Published:First published April 22, 1962 inPravdaNo. 112.

      Printed from the manuscript.Source:Lenin
	  Collected Works,

      1st English Edition,

      Progress Publishers,1965,

      Moscow,Volume 42,

      pages354-355a.Translated:Yuri SdobnikovTranscription\Markup:D. WaltersPublic Domain:Lenin Internet Archive

      (2003).You may freely copy, distribute,
	display and perform this work; as well as make derivative and
	commercial works. Please credit “Marxists Internet
	Archive” as your source.•README

DearComrades,

Judgingby the scrappy information concerning the growth of the
communist movement in Poland that reaches our newspapers, and judging
(still more) by the reports of some very prominent Polish comrades, the
revolution in Poland is coming to a head.

Aworkers’ revolution is brewing: the complete collapse of the

P.P.S.[the Polish Socialist Party](in
Russian-S.H.s and Mensheviks; in European-the II and 11’. /2 The trade
unions, one after another, are joining the Communists.  The growth of
demonstrations, and so on. Imminent and inevitable financial collapse. The
gigantic failure of bourgeois democracy (and of the petty bourgeoisie) in
Poland with the agrarian reform, a failure that is foredoomed, inevitable,
and bound to push the majority of the rural population-the whole poor
section of the peasantry-towards the Communists.

Financialcollapse and shameless plunder of Poland by Entente capital
(France and other countries) are bringing with them a practical exposure of
national and Great Power illusions, an exposure that is strikingly clear
and tangible to themasses, tothe rank-and-file worker, to the
rank-and-file peasant.

Ifthis is so, then the revolution (Soviet revolution) in Poland is
boundtowin, and win soon. That being the case, the Government
and the bourgeoisie must be prevented from strangling the revolution by
bloody suppression of aprematureuprising. You must not be
provoked. You must wait for the tide to rise to its highest: it will sweep
everything away and give victory to the Communists.

Ifthe bourgeoisie kills 100-300 people, this will not ruin the
cause. But if it is able to provoke a massacre, to kill10-30
thousandworkers, this may delay the revolution even for several
years.

Ifit is important for the Government to hold elections to the Seim,
then an effort should be made for theSeim tobe wonby the wave of the workers’ revolution and the peasants’
discontent.

Donot yield to provocation.

Therevolution must be allowed to grow tofullripening of the
fruit. The victory of Soviet powerfrom withinPoland will be a
giganticinternationalvictory. If Soviet power has, in my
opinion, now won an international victory to the extent of 20-30 per cent,
then with the victory of Soviet powerfrom withinPoland, we shall
have a 40-50, perhaps even 51 per centinternationalvictory of
the communist revolution. For Poland is next door to Germany,
Czechoslovakia and Hungary, and a Soviet Poland will under-mine thewholeregime built up on the peace of Versailles.

Thatis why the Polish Communists bear a responsibility before the
whole world-that of keeping a firm grip on the helm of their ship and
steering clear of provocations.

Isit worth while retaliating for the beating up of Dâbal by Daszynski
& Co.? Retaliation, if any, should be by beating up Daszynski, just
like that, without any shooting or wounding. It may be worth while if it
has the effect of teaching an insolent fellow a lesson at the hands of the
workers, and stiffening the workers’ spirit at the cost of a sacrifice of
5-10 of them (by imprisonment or execution). But maybe it is not worth
while: would not the fact that our Dâbal had been brutally beaten up bemore usefulfor the purpose of agitation among thepeasants?
Wouldit not bemore effective inturning the sympathy of thebackward peasants towards us than the thrashing of Daszynski? This
should be weighed more carefully.

Withcommunist greetings,Lenin